Too Late
by JrBenson
Summary: Inconceivable - how it should have been...
1. Chapter 1

Ok…after watching the episode Inconceivable, I had to write something for it. Personally, I felt a bit shafted – after only 2 seconds of airtime did we find out Olivia's 'Big Secret'. I felt something was lacking…or missing. This is how it should have been if I were ever to write for SVU…consider it an alternate version of the episode.

* * *

Too Late

**_Chapter 1_**

"Uh-oh…looks like dad's pissed." Olivia murmured as she glanced up from her desk. Walking out of Cragen's office was the Chief of Detectives himself. And he didn't look too happy either. Elliot, who was leaning over his desk at his computer, looked over his shoulder then back to Liv.

"What I do now?" he said with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. Olivia raised an eyebrow and smiled. How she missed the light banter between the two of them. Glancing at the captain who was now approaching with the Chief by his side, she slowly stood and shoved her hands in her pockets. Elliot straightened himself up and turned to face the two men.

"The Chief has asked us to make this case a top priority. Highly sensitive."

"That's no problem Captain. What is it?" Olivia and Elliot were now standing side by side ready to move to find whatever monster that needed to be caught.

Taking a hesitant breath, Cragen shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat.

"Stolen embryos."

Both detectives looked at each other with perplexed stares then stared back at Cragen. Putting his hands on his hips, Elliot spoke first.

"Excuse me, what were stolen?" Before Cragen could say anything, the Chief of Detectives stepped up.

"A embryos. A hundred of them."

"Uh…with all do respect sir, how is this an SVU case?"

"These are children that have been kidnapped. Future children. And we need to get them back. Now." With that, the Chief turned on his heel and marched out of room. Olivia and Elliot glanced at each other. _All right then…_Elliot was the first to react.

"Captain…" Cragen was already on the move.

"You'll get the files sent over. You don't have much time. You better get a move on."

Cragen went to his office signalling the end of the discussion. Turning once more to Liv, Elliot said as he sat back down in his chair.

"What? Do I have bad breath?"


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for all those reviews. That was seriously fast! Thanks for letting me know of my itty-bitty faux pas – I've corrected them (hope I got 'em all). I'll do my best to catch 'em before I post my stories. Let me know if I've missed any.

I may add some scenes from the episode from time to time – or I may stretch a moment/scene a bit. Some things may not be accurate or true. Basically it'll be my own version of how it _should've_ happened.

I own nothing. Just my imagination

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Chapter 2

At the station, the rest of the squad was busy staring at the monitors or riffling through their files. Munch some how became the brains of the machine became. He was typing away when Elliot and Olivia came walking in. The mood had suddenly changed when they entered. Munch looked up at the two of them and was about to make a witty comment when he saw the body language that Olivia was giving off and thought better of it and went back to his work.

Walking to her desk, she noticed a woman sitting there. Taking a moment to compose herself she spoke quietly to the frail woman.

"Hi, I'm Detective Olivia Benson. Can I help you with anything?"

"Uh…yes. They said you were handling my case." The woman replied.

"You're embryos were stolen." The woman nodded.

"Have you made any progress?" The woman asked as she watched Olivia take a seat and grab a pad and pencil.

"We're working on it. Can I get your name please?"

"Eva Sinsol. I need you to know how important it is for you to find them."

"I do Mrs. Sinsol."

"No…I'm not married…or dating for that matter" Eva looked away.

"Ok. So the father isn't in the picture?" Olivia asked gently.

"No…I…uh…my eggs were fertilized and I picked out the sperm donor."

At this, Olivia stopped writing and looked up at Eva.

"Not exactly how I pictured it growing up…but I ran out of time," said Eva dryly.

"Excuse me for prying but you're so young…" Olivia stopped at the smirk she got from Eva.

"This is what happens when you put it off for so long. Your career becomes your life…and pretty soon you realize you don't have anymore time to have the one thing you _do_ want…" Eva gave Olivia a sad smile….

* * *

Catching up to Olivia, Elliot noticed she had her phone out. 

"What are you doing?"

Looking at him as if he had lost his mind, Olivia simply replied, "I'm calling child services." Olivia kept on walking. Elliot reached out and stopped her from going any further.

"Parents have to make hard choices. Now, this last pregnancy, Kathy was over forty, makes it for a much higher risk… Things like Down Syndrome-"

"And you know what, Eli turned out perfect so spare me the perils of women over forty having babies." And with that Liv turned and headed back to the car. _Shit. _Thought Elliot. He knew that the one thing in the world that Olivia had ever wanted was a baby. Walking back to the car he got in quietly regretting what he had said. He glanced over and saw her staring out the window.

"You know, you'd make a great mom…"

"Oh, my god, I'm not having this conversation right now," replied an irritated Olivia. She didn't want to discuss this topic anymore. Especially with him. She was fed up with him trying to convincer her of what wasn't true.

"You're great with kids," he tried again.

Taking a deep breath Olivia just wanted him to drop it. "Yeah…I know," she said quietly and kept her eyes straight ahead. She wasn't going to discuss it with him anymore.

Looking at her and contemplating whether or not he should keep going, he turned his attention on starting the car. He wanted to try one more time – this time with a different approach.

"Look, maybe you should start thinking about having kids, and anyway you want to do it, I'll support you…"Elliot said as he rested his arm on the armrest. _Come on Liv…don't shut me out…_

Olivia finally had enough and finally turned to her partner.

"Elliot, do me a favour."

"Yeah?" _Name it…anything…_

"Shut up and drive." And with that, she stared back out the window. _Alright then…that went well…_Elliot thought. Giving up, he turned and started the car. _This is going to be a long ride back…

* * *

_

Walking into the small diner, Olivia made her way to the back of the restaurant. Sliding into the booth, she smiled at her guest.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late." Waiting for the waitress to take her order, Olivia turned back to the young woman.

"So…how are things? You ok?"

The young woman just shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing," then sliding over a new paper pointed to the headline. Sighing, Olivia closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"And don't think about lying to me."

"Alright, alright…I've had better days."

"Yeah, I've noticed. So…how are you handling it?" The young woman said as she took a sip of her milkshake. Olivia thought for a moment. _How am I handling it? _

"I don't know…how am I supposed to deal with this?" Olivia toyed with her napkin.

"Liv…you can't believe what that woman said. She has no idea the kind of mom you are…"

"That's the point. I never was one…and I never will be...," Olivia said softly and looked out the window. She tried to hold back the tears but they fell anyways. She doubted she'd get to watch a child of her own grow up or watch them graduate. And it hurt her so much.

Reaching out, the young woman placed her hand over Olivia's.

"To me you are. And you always will be…"


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for taking so long to update this story. I was just looking into a few things for the story.

I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 3

After leaving Mrs. Grall's apartment, Olivia and Elliot stood waiting for the elevator in silence. There seemed to be a million things to say but neither had anything to say to the other. Olivia's mind was racing as to the clues didn't seem to match up to anything.

"I didn't tell Fin about anything," Elliot said quietly. He was staring down at his feet. Olivia's head quickly snapped in his direction. She saw that he was telling the truth. _It's not his fault…he doesn't know…_

"I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean…I know how much you want a kid…" taking a breath he glanced over at his partner.

"Sorry…I'll shut up now," Elliot said as he looked back down at his feet.

"It's ok."

Again silence filled the space between them. There was a lot of this going on between the two detectives. Olivia wondered how it got to this point. Sighing, Olivia decided it was time to tell him.

"A few years ago I considered adopting…actually I had fostered a kid for a bit."

Elliot's face little up. He was about to say something to her when she stopped him.

"They turned me down." She said with out looking at him. She shoved her hands in her pocket. _Do not cry…don't you dare cry…_

At Elliot's questioning gaze, Olivia did her best to sound unaffected.

"Apparently I'm not paternal material." She said and gave him a sad smile.

"Liv…"

"I can understand…I mean, I'm single, married to the job, I'm a cop which doesn't guarantee me a great life expectancy…no family support system. Maybe it's better this way." Olivia couldn't help but feel a little bitter. She had worked so hard her entire life to make sure she never became her father that she missed out on living her own life. Which in the end cost her dearly.

Elliot was quiet for a moment. What was he to say? He was married and had 5 amazingly beautiful children. And yet there were still some bumps in his relationship with both his children and his wife. But he knew that with out any of them to come home to, his life would be useless. He also knew that Olivia would have done everything humanly possible for any child. Especially her own, if she were blessed enough to have one. He saw it in the way she was with his kids and with young victims.

"Are you going to keep trying?" Elliot asked.

Shrugging, Olivia shook her head.

"What's the point? The case worker made it pretty obvious that I'm not the right candidate for the job."

Elliot was about to say something when the elevator arrived. Stepping in, Olivia's head snapped up.

"We're doing this all wrong…" Liv said as the door's shut.

At Elliot's confused look Liv explained, "the receptionist…she's the only person that had that much contact with _all_ the expectant parents…she has to know who this guy is," indicating to the photo she held in her hand.

As if a light bulb went off, Elliot nodded slowly and took out his cell phone.

"I'll get Munch on it…" smiling, he spoke quickly to John.

* * *

The detective's stood in silence as they watched the casket being carried passed them. They were too late to save the embryos. They failed all those families and they failed Mr. Harvey and his now deceased wife. _We're always too late…_Liv thought. Elliot moved in to arrest Mr. Harvey. Olivia stood on the other side of him.

"It's too late…I have nothing now…too late…" Mr. Harvey began to mumble as he was led away. Olivia just stood and watched. His words kept ringing in her head… _It's too late…It's too late…_

_Is it really too late? What if Elliot is right? Maybe I should try again…_Olivia's heart began to beat faster with that idea.

"Liv? You alright?" Snapped out of her musings, she just looked at Elliot. _Maybe I should try again…_

"Yeah…I'm fine." They began to walk back to the car. Olivia pulled out her phone and dialled a number.

"Hey, you want to meet me at the diner? Yeah…mind if I bring a friend? …Ok…I'll see you then" shutting off her phone, she turned to Elliot.

"You wanna grab a coffee after?" Asked Liv. Elliot looked a bit surprised. It had been awhile since the two had just sat and talked. He wasn't stupid enough to pass up on the offer.

"Yeah. 'Bout time you treated me." He said with a smile.

Smiling herself, she nudged Elliot with her elbow.

"Don't get used to it. Besides, I'd like you to meet someone." She caught Elliot's expression and quickly added.

"Not _that_ kind of a someone. God…am I that hopeless?" Liv laughed a little.

"If I answer that, you're not gonna hit me?" Elliot joined in on the laughter. They both fell silent but they still kept their smiles. _Maybe it's not too late after all…

* * *

_

After the paper work had been filled and filed away it was time to go. Elliot and Liv made there way to the elevators.

"So…where you taking me?"

Rolling her eyes at him, Liv just smiled.

"It's a hole in the wall of a diner. Don't let that fool you though. The food is amazing."

"And who am I meeting?" Elliot asked slyly.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her wallet. She pulled out a photo that was a few years old and handed it to Elliot. He stared at the picture. It was of Olivia. She had her arms wrapped tightly around a young girl. Both were smiling brightly. As if they hadn't a care in the world.

Looking up, he saw that Liv had a sad look in her eyes. It hit him then.

"How old is she?" he asked gently.

"She just turned 14. We were at a carnival when I asked someone to take that for me." Olivia swallowed her emotions that were threatening to spill over. It felt like an eternity since that photo was taken. Her world had crumbled a 2 years after that photo had been taken.

"How long ago was this?" Elliot handed the picture back and watched as Liv lovingly put the photo back into her wallet. In his gut, he knew she would have made a perfect mother.

"5 years ago." She said sadly. Again, the elevator came and Elliot was interrupted. They stepped into the elevator, all conversation exhausted. They stood side by side quietly staring at the numbers. Reaching out, Elliot took hold of Liv's hand and gently squeezed it in silent support.

Looking over at Elliot, Liv smiled in thanks. He gave her a small nod. As the elevator stopped, they knew that after today, things were going to change forever….


	4. Chapter 4

OK boys and girls. It's finally up. This is my very first finished fan fic. Hope you've enjoyed this. And sorry it took so long. I was sick for a while then I went to the Spice Girls concert...well, need I say more. lol.

* * *

Chapter 4

They entered the diner. One of the waitresses immediately waved a hello to Olivia.

"Wow! Two days in one week. Must be my lucky day!"

Smiling, Liv pointed in the direction of a booth and gave the waitress a questioning look.

"She's waitin for ya sweetie. Go right ahead."

"Thanks Paula."

Motioning for Elliot to follow her, she led the way to the back booth. When they got there Elliot was surprised to see someone already sitting there. As if just noticing she had company the young woman sitting down looked up and immediately smiled.

"Hey Liv!" The woman got up and gave Olivia a big hug. When they broke apart, Liv stood to the side and placed an arm around her shoulders. Elliot instantly recognized her and smiled.

"Elliot, I'd like you to meet Kristel. Kris, this is my partner and occasional pain in the ass, Detective Elliot Stabler." The young woman shook Elliot's hand.

"Hi," Kristel said happily. "And here I thought I was the only pain in the ass?" Kris laughed as Liv nudged her into the booth and slid in next to her. Elliot sat opposite them.

"So…I'm assuming you haven't heard of me?" Kris had a playful smirk on her face. Elliot quietly nodded. Turning to Liv, Kris pointed out, "he's not much of a talker is he?"

"Kris…" Olivia said warningly but had a ghost of a smile on her face.

"OK, OK. I'm sorry. But really, if he doesn't say anything, I'm gonna start to get worried."

"Uh…I'm just a little…shocked I guess."

"Figured you were. So, Mr. Stabler…you got any kids?" Kristel had resumed drinking her chocolate milkshake. Elliot just nodded his head at the bundle of energy sitting in front of him. Kristel was the complete opposite of Olivia. Where Olivia was quiet and reserved, Kristel was talkative and ready to jump at any given moment. He smiled a little at the two in front of him. He was quite taken with the lively girl and he could see why Liv would want to take her in. Smiling he pulled out his wallet and took out a couple of photos and handed it over to Kris.

"As a matter of fact I do. 5 in total." Eyes widening slightly, Kris let out a low whistle.

"Damn…you're a busy bunny." Kris mumbled.

"Kristel!" Olivia gave a sharp warning. Looking sheepishly at Elliot, Kris gave a shrug and an apology.

"Don't worry about it kid. How old are you anyway?" Asked Elliot as he placed the pictures back in their place. He signaled for the waitress then looked back at Kris.

"I'm 19…"

"18…"

Rolling her eyes at Olivia, Kris continued on, "OK…technically, I'm 18. My birthday is in June though...which is in about 5 months…"

"And you're still not legal in most places…" supplied Olivia with a ghost of a smile. Throwing her hands up in the air, Kris looked heaven ward and asked, "why me?" Elliot just laughed and shook his head. After giving their order to Paula, it was Elliot's turn to ask the questions.

"So how did the two of you get paired up?"

Olivia and Kris looked at each other and Liv gave a slight nod of her head. Kris looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, we actually met at my school…" a faint smile could be seen on both Olivia's and Kristel's face.

"I was going around the schools for that safety blitz 6 years ago. I think you were caught up with something and I took over…"

"I remember that. I was in court all day and couldn't get out so you went in my place…"

Nodding, Olivia smiled at him. Kris picked up where Liv left off.

"I remember I had a rough time in the shelter I'd been at. I hated it there. The kids there wouldn't quite hassling me. So I'd take it out at school…" Elliot gave Kris an odd look and she quickly added, "I wasn't a bad kid. Not in that sense. I would just be…what's the word? Mouthy I suppose…"

"And on that particular day I was in, she was twice as mouthy." Olivia added. Kristel just gave her a 'very funny' look. "As I was saying…I was just letting steam out at school. When Liv came in, I had a particularly rough morning. I just couldn't deal with it anymore and I didn't know how to let out." Elliot nodded in understanding. He had done a few of these talks in other schools and he had a few kids like Kristel.

"I kept mouthing off whenever Olivia started a new topic or started talking. She finally called me out on it…" Kris turned to Liv and gave her a proud smile. "That was the first time anyone did that." Returning the smile, Liv continued the story.

"I told her that if she wanted the attention so much, she should come and stand next to me. That way everyone's eyes will be on her. She was surprised. Then she got up and stood right next to me the entire time. And guess what? She didn't say an entire word." Kris stuck out her tongue at Liv and all three laughed.

"So what happened next?" Elliot asked through a mouth full of fries. Olivia gave him an exasperated look.

"You're worse then she is," Liv jerked her head in Kristel's direction. Kris herself had a mouth full of hamburger and she looked up and gave a muffled, "what?"

Rolling her eyes Olivia continued, "When the class was let out, I had a talk with her teacher. I found out that Kris was in foster care. Actually, she was bumped from foster home to foster home. She ended up in the shelter when no one wanted to take her in." A sad look washed over Olivia and Kris. Olivia wrapped an arm around Kristel's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"As I was leaving the school, I saw that she was in a corner of the playground and she was all alone. I went over to her and we just talked. I found out that the kids in the shelter loved to goad her into fights. Of course she'd get into trouble while the others just got off with a slap on the wrist. I gave her my card and I told her to give me a call…anytime. And I left."

Wiping his mouth, Elliot was a bit surprised. "You just left?" Olivia just nodded.

"Don't worry padre. She didn't get too far. A few weeks later, I had to call her. This kid at the shelter…Dennis, he'd been really giving it to me. Shoving me around calling me names. He even gave me a few hits…I kept going to the co-ordinator and they'd just brush me off. I couldn't take it anymore so I called Liv. You should have seen her, man! Badge and everything! And the looks on the co-ordinator's faces…wooohooo! Priceless!" Kristel had a huge grin on her face as she finished. Olivia just shook her head.

"It wasn't like that. I had to flash my badge around because those damn co-ordinators were too busy watching their soap opera. So I told them I was taking the kid and we just left and went to my place…"

"Wait a sec. You just took her from there. With out any legal…" Elliot said with concern in his voice. Olivia held up a hand to stop him.

"Elliot, I was already in the process of getting the paper work for fostering Kris. I spoke with my lawyer and he said that he'd take care of that. So I was on my way down to the shelter when she called."

"That's it? No ifs, ands or buts?" Elliot couldn't believe it. Nothing was ever that easy. Especially when it involved teenagers.

As if reading his mind, Olivia explained, "I can't say it was easy, El. Not by a long shot. We've both had our moments. We've had screaming matches…you name it. You should know Elliot. You have kids…5 of them. Nothing is ever that simple."

Kristel, who was quiet for most of the conversation, spoke up. "You've got to give her some credit, Mr. Stabler. Most foster parents don't know what there getting into. That's why I kept getting shifted around so much. They think it's going to be some fairy tale, like in the movies. But once trouble starts, they drop ya so fast your head spins. But Liv…she stuck with it. Granted, I did give her some serious grief for the first few months. But she wasn't going to just roll over and take it. It's like she knew I was trying to see how far I could push her. She was the best mom I've ever had…I wish she were my _real_ mom."

All three were quiet. There wasn't much left to say. So many questions were jumping around in Elliot's head. Olivia was staring at him. She knew what he was thinking.

"Why don't you wash up and I'll drive you back to the center." Olivia said while glancing over at Elliot. Kristel knew that she was being ushered outta there for a reason. Shrugging, she slid from the booth and headed for the bathroom.

"Elliot…"

"Why didn't you bother to tell me any of this?" Elliot felt hurt. He felt betrayed. They were partners for almost 10 years and not once did she ever mention fostering a kid.

"I didn't think it was any of your business…"

"Not any of my business!? We've been partners for 9 years!"

"What was the point? They took her way in the end." Elliot stared at her. Watching the way she was with Kristel, he knew that it must have killed her inside when Child Services took Kris away. He also knew that his partner was a proud woman and wasn't going to ask for help.

"I could have been there for you." He said quietly. Reaching out across the table, he squeezed her hand in support. "You know…you do have options…"

Rolling her eyes, Olivia let out a breath. "Christ Elliot…don't you ever give up?"

"Just listen to me for a second will you? You can still adopt her Liv. If it's what you really want. It's obvious that you love her very much and she loves you. It's not too late. "

Olivia sat for a moment. _Do I risk it again? _

"Liv…you know if you go through with it, we'll all be there. The guys... Kathy and the kids…me…we're all yours. We're _your_ family..."

Elliot sat expectantly. _Come on Liv…come on…_

Olivia weighed her options. She glanced over to where Kristel was making her way back. _It's not too late…_

Turning back to Elliot, she gave him a small smile.

The End


End file.
